Rusal becomes first Russian firm to list in Hong Kong

Rusal, the Russian aluminium producer controlled by Oleg Deripaska, has floated 11% of its equity in Hong Kong, making it the first Russian firm to go public there. But it's not all good news.

Rusal, the Russian aluminium producer controlled by Oleg Deripaska, has floated 11% of its equity in Hong Kong, making it the first Russian firm to go public there. The initial public offering (IPO) raised $2.24bn, implying a total market capitalisation of $21bn. This follows two aborted attempts to list, one in London, one in Hong Kong. The shares fell 10% below the IPO price on their first day of trading on Wednesday. What the commentators said

Lengthy scrutiny meant that Rusal had been on a "long road to Hong Kong", said Tom Mitchell in the FT. Even then, the IPO received regulatory approvals "only after agreeing to unprecedented barriers on retail investor participation" the minimum order allowed was $129,000. Jackson Wong at Tanrich Securities reckoned that was sensible, as the company "is too complicated for an average investor".

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